Kingdom Hearts χ - Ink Bleed
by EeveeGen9988
Summary: Auen's life revolved around Daybreak Town and the Worlds Chirthy showed her... After making a new friend, and a chance meeting with Master Ava days later, Auen's life begins to change while she indulges in her new hobby...
1. Prologue - Gifts

**Kingdom Hearts** _ **χ**_ **\- Ink Bleed**

 **Kingdom Hearts _χ_ [chi] and Kingdom Hearts Union ****_χ_** **[cross] belong to Disney and Square Enix. I do not own these games, this is a fanfiction.**

 **EeveeGen9988: So, I had this idea for a story... It's something I thought up on Friday last week, and was excited enough to go through with it. I guess you can say it's kind of like a deviation of the plot, like a AU of sorts (maybe?)... *rubs back of neck***

 **So, I hope you enjoy this first part of the story. Voila! =3**

 **...**

 **Prologue - Gifts:**

* * *

"Master, are these masks really necessary?"

Turning around, the Master of Masters smiled upon seeing his five apprentices now bearing their masks. He put his hands on his hips, humming as he faced Ira, his light blue robed apprentice with the white hooded cloak. "Are they _necessary_!?" the black coated man asked in mock dismay, laughing heartily when some of the others flinched. "I think they suit all of you!" He swayed, soon clasping his hands contently as he smiled from behind his hood. "Look, Ira... it's not like I gave you a unicorn mask to hurt your pride in any way."

"No, Master... It's not that," Ira said, obviously trying to keep his tone firm. The Master of Masters knew his apprentice was hardly keeping a straight face from behind his white and gold accented mask, even when its deep red eyes faced the dark coated man now. Promptly, Ira directed his palms towards the Master of Masters as he spread his arms wide, and soon he explained, "I don't think wearing a mask gives us any benefits." The Master of Masters saw how Aced, the one with the bear mask, nodded in agreement with his fellow peer. "What purpose do we have for them?" Even the Master of Masters' other apprentices were frowning back in confusion at him, even Luxu was watching from afar...

The Master of Masters was holding his chin when he observed this, soon taking in a deep steady breath. It looks like he had some explaining to do... He didn't anticipate this, but this wasn't going to be hard. He formulated a response as he hummed in thought, soon snapping his fingers as he exclaimed, "Ah… that's it!" He waved his hand dismissively towards them, and gave a chuckle, "You think having a mask is a burden, but let me tell you-" He slowly drew up a finger and waggled it in the air expertly. "It really does you justice."

"Justice?" Invi, his light purplish blue robed apprentice with a lighter blue hooded cloak, took a step forward. "I don't see how having a mask does us justice."

" _Oh_ you guys…" The Master of Masters sagged forward, looking down towards the ground while laughing internally. He moaned miserably, "And here I thought you'd like the gifts I gave you." Sensing their unease, he went on with his charade. "I really, _really_ worked hard on them, y'know? Going out of my way to show how much I care about you guys… yet you guys don't even like them!?" He slowly brought his hand to his chest, choking out, "I _guess_ I don't know you five as much as I thought…"

He heard shuffling amongst the five, and he waited for any of them to speak up.

"W-We do like them, Master," said Ava nervously. He heard her brisk yet nervous footsteps edge towards him. "They're really beautiful."

"And yet you complain about them?" said the Master of Masters with mock hurt, shaking his head. "Oh… I know you're only trying to make me feel better, Ava, but it can't be helped that none of you care for them."

"Master, w-we're sorry…" Ava, the ever kind girl, grew closer until he felt her presence in front of him. He knew that kindness one day would help nurture those who needed guidance, especially with the role he had planned for her.

He slowly rose up to stand straighter, allowing himself to sag forward slightly afterward. He put a hand on top of her pink hood, cupping slightly over one of the fox ears. "Don't worry, my heart will mend from this one day." He saw her smile sadly, then noted how her white and blue accented mask was slightly askew. Slowly, he shifted it so it was leveled correctly on her head, and watched as her cheeks grew rosy from embarrassment. She was the youngest of his proteges, the least experienced… but one day, she would be wise and fair. He smiled then patted her on the head, watching as she scurried back to the rest of his students.

As soon as they were all settled, the dark coated man clasped his hands behind his back, and nodded. "I know you never expected those masks, but know that each and every one of you deserve them. A mask means a lot of things, and a mask holds many mysteries. They also-" He frowned slightly, looking off to the distance at his Book of Prophecies when he thought about what was in store for them. "Protect those who bear them."

"Then… you want us to be safe," mused Gula, the shortest of his male apprentices. As the Master of Masters regarded his yellow shirted apprentice under the pale yellow coated hood, the Master of Masters pictured gears were already turning in the boy's head. Upon nodding in response, the Master of Masters observed how the leopard mask bearer paused for a long time, soon turning towards Luxu before gesturing to him. "Then where's Luxu's mask?"

Luxu, who had been standing off a little ways from his peers, finally turned his black hood in the Master of Masters' direction. Quietly, the Master of Masters watched him as Luxu spoke meekly, "I… I don't think I'm ready for one yet." Immediately, a frown came upon Gula's face, gradually turning back to the Master of Masters.

The Master of Masters internally applauded Luxu, glad that he remembered their recent conversation. Although the Masters of Masters already was in the process of fixing up a mask for him, Luxu saw it but declined. Unlike Ira, Aced, Invi, Gula, and Ava, Luxu wouldn't be in charge of a Union one day, and already the Master of Masters knew that it pained the boy enough as it is. But, the Master of Masters told himself, one day he'll tell Luxu why. The time wasn't right, and he had to dispel his other five apprentices' confusion.

" _Oh_ , Luxu's mask…" The Master of Masters pretended to ponder, taking note of the rapt interest his masked students held now towards him. This would be a _touchy_ topic to handle, he mused, and knew it would take a good performance to settle their growing curiosity. He waited a few seconds before shaking his head, shrugging as he replied mildly, "Luxu already has a _fabulous_ coat like mine, and that coat already provides certain protection of the dark." He saw Ira open his mouth, ready to comment, so the Master of Masters held up a hand and went on to lie, "But Luxu is correct." He flicked his hand nonchalantly. "He isn't quite at the same level as you guys. So, until he is... " He closed his eyes. "He'll have to do without one."

He knew his students wouldn't respond positively to that, but deep down, he knew two things. One, his students wouldn't dare to challenge his word. They were always receptive to his wishes, and never has he sensed any desires to deviate from his lessons. Second, there would _never_ be a sixth Union… Already he remembered his vision of five of his students standing together, with Keyblade wielders standing behind them. Luxu was nowhere in proximity of Ira, Aced, Invi, Gula, or Ava, so the Master of Masters knew Luxu couldn't be a part of what he had planned for them. Although, at first, he thought it was strange, how even though Luxu came together with them in the beginning, that there was something just as important but different for him to take on… That reassurance didn't ease the pain he felt for the boy anymore than it already had.

Luxu seemed to slide off the wall he was leaning on, and left the room as the Master of Masters was mulling over this. And as soon as the Master of Masters noticed the boy was out of sight, the Master of Masters clasped his hands together before him and chirped, "...So then, that's all for today." He swung around, ready to head back to his desk while waving them off, finishing cheerfully, "You guys can go and-"

"What about your mask?"

The Master of Masters froze. "Huh!?" He whipped back, and his masked students flinched. "What did you just say, Gula!?"

All of them were dead silent, looking at each other nervously like lost ducklings. But from all of them, the dark grey robed boy looked more petrified than anything. After a minute or two, Gula slowly spoke up again with less confidence than he had previously, "I-I… I mean, _do_ you have a mask?"

The Master of Masters mulled over the boy's words, then placed a finger on his chin as he mused, "My mask... " He soon looked at the boy curiously, smiling knowingly when he waved his hand casually. "You suspect that _I_ have a mask? That's _very_ generous of you to believe..."

"Y-You don't have a mask?" Gula asked in disbelief, growing completely stiff where he stood.

"Well, why would you assume I do?" pressed the Master of Masters, eager to push the boy to continue his thought process. It was certainly something new to see Gula like this, and the Master of Masters wanted to know how else the boy could apply himself right now. The boy was intelligent, but hardly took time to actively use it whenever he trained with his fellow peers. This, however, was a golden opportunity for the boy to show that...

"Y-You gave us masks, so…" Gula seemed lost for words as his voice tapered off, his mouth gaping like a fish to the Master of Masters' amusement. It didn't appear as if Gula was ready for the Master of Masters' response, so the Master of Masters knew he was going to enjoy what else the boy had to say. He willed the boy on, wanting to see Gula's potential...

But Gula wasn't the one to do so. Instead, it was Invi, who looked at the shorter boy before picking up from the place Gula left off. "...You gave us masks, Master, so it would make sense that you have one as well."

The Master of Masters smiled despite how disappointed he didn't hear that from Gula himself, but nonetheless, Invi showed promise like Gula just now. He chuckled as he saw how pale Gula's face was from losing the courage he had to speak, but the Master of Masters was pleased that Gula almost succeeded. To be inquisitive only to find something unexpected and work off of it from there… Gula would have to work on that if a situation such as this arose again in the future. Although, how quickly Invi was to support her fellow peer when she seemed to sense his current distress was pleasing to witness. She hardly was empathetic in her actions towards her peers, so the Master of Masters knew she would have to work on that further if she would receive support for herself from others in the future. She often times left her peers on a limb, watching them struggle… so it was a nice change of pace for her. As well, it paid the Master of Masters no other joy than to see how his students have grown since they started their lessons. Deep inside, he couldn't be more proud of them right now.

But back on the topic at hand, ooh… what a doozy! The black coated man hummed, trying to figure how to respond to Invi's question. It was simple, yes… but he kind of wanted to avoid bringing this up. He knew delaying his response would do no good to Gula's self-esteem, seeing as the boy might begin to think he may have been wrong or maybe the Master of Masters was angry that he brought up the topic. Those were only two imminent conclusions of thousands that boy may cook up, so the Master of Masters had to proceed with caution. But then, he snapped his fingers.

The Master of Masters grinned to himself, swaying as he gave a quick session of nods. "Well, yes- I actually _do_ have one."

Gula seemed to relax finally, although the Master of Masters imagined the boy was ready to pass out from the suspense. Drawing his focus to his other apprentices, Ira and Aced looked at each other in silent awe, Ava gaped as she gave him her sheer attention, and for Invi... she appeared to remain the most collected of all of them. It was hard to tell what was going on in her head right now, especially since the Master of Masters couldn't just gauge her response like he used to. From the blue snake mask that covered almost her whole face now, the Master of Masters knew that it would be easier for her to hide her expressions. He watched as she stepped forward, and gestured as she asked coolly, "May we see it?"

" _See_ _it_!?" The Master of Masters placed a hand on his forehead, giving a sheepish laugh before he gave another exclamation, "You want to see _that_ old thing? I-I mean…" He threw up his hands, waving dismissively as he used as much virve as he could when he abashedly mumbled, "It's _nothing_ like _your_ masks...!"

"But it would be wonderful to see it, Master!" Ava gasped softly with excitement, "I'm sure it's just as beautiful as ours!"

"And you can't just expect us to _not_ see it after psyching us up for it!" exclaimed Aced in tune with Ava as he clenched his hands into fists, but then he seemed to backpedal slightly as his tone turned meek, "B-But… if y-you don't want us to see it, then…"

The Master of Masters knew he couldn't escape from their request, despite how he didn't want to do it. He smiled painfully from behind his hood, but couldn't help but find their eagerness endearing. It was enough to win against his reluctance, which was why he decided to oblige. "Alright, alright… hold your horses… I'll do it, I'll do it," he sang as he waved his hands in the air, shaking his head with gaiety as he did a final downward wave of his hand in their direction. He soon pointed at them with the same hand. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll even wear it around you guys from now on. I just…" He paused, sensing their contagious anticipation make him feel invigorated when he murmured right after in embarrassment, "I _just_ need to find where I stuffed it away, and then the next time I see you guys..." He clenched his hand, popping a thumb up as he piped, "I'll _definitely_ have it with me!" He nodded, starting to feel unease over his decision.

The room immediately was filled with energy he hadn't felt in years since he gathered his apprentices together, and he couldn't help but feel a warmth seep inside his heart from the happiness that was blooming in all of them. He walked over, ushering them towards the door as he went on, "Now then, I think it's time for you guys to go for the day. I want to see you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow..." He deepened his tone, grumbling teasingly, "But be warned that because _you're_ the ones who were begging to see the boring old thing, you shouldn't expect it to be great..."

His five pupils obediently allowed themselves to be guided out, but Ava, who was at the rear of the group, turned back when everyone else had gone. She was halfway through the door, holding her hand around the doorframe as she spoke gently, "Don't worry, Master… I'm sure your mask will be the most special one." She then left, scurrying to catch up with her peers down the hall. The Master of Masters watched her go with a weak smile, slowly drawing the door closed before frowning.

Another thing about Ava was the hope she held onto; imagine what would happen when something bursts that bubble… He grimaced, shaking his head. That was a matter of growth for her he knew he would never see the light of day of… not that he wanted to see it in the first place.

He walked over to multiple stacks of books he deliberately placed in the far corner, not escaping to the security of his desk like he wanted to. He simply kicked them over gingerly, watching them tumble down to uncover the small chest he wished he could forget about. Electricity sizzled from his palm as he summoned No Name, unlocking the little chest with a lazy aim from his Keyblade and caused its lid to flip soundly open. Hesitating for a while, the Master of Masters soon lowered himself to the floor with a groan and sat, crossing his legs. He looked in, soon sighing when he saw it peering back at him then reached in. As he drew his mask out for the first time in ages, he felt the weight it held when he locked it away all those years ago.

The memory of broken intricate creations came to him, soiled by the image of hearts drifting from the battered ones who wore them… The coloured orbs where the eyes were located burned into his mind again, taunting him by protecting him from seeing the light in his old friends' eyes die. The mask he created for his old master was always the one haunting him the most… so he was glad he never gave Luxu that mask. If anything, one day, the No Name would be worth more to hand down to Luxu and his role than the broken ram mask that the Master of Masters abandoned repairing. In all honesty... it was a good thing he locked it away with all the other broken masks yesterday, or his apprentices might have questioned him about them too...

He had to wonder, why oh why, he chose to make masks for them. He could only guess it was a desire to give them something thoughtful, beautiful, and something to show how much he cared for them. As well, they deserved them... but more importantly, it was to protect them. In the back of his mind, he was grateful he would never see their masks break as their own lives were taken.

When he stared down at his own mask, his first flawless creation, his heart grew heavy. **'Why couldn't I just show it to them, and never bring it up ever again? It would have been easier that way…'**

If trying to not grow a stronger connection with them meant anything now...

Those kids always buttered him up, and he couldn't find it in himself to tell them that. Choosing to wear a mask everyday with them meant they shared a deeper camaraderie, which meant it would be harder to do what he had to do. Making the Book of Prophecies would do them no good… even if it would help them know what was to be. And the masks he gave them was a bad idea, now that created another reminder... a reminder of the past. He was stuck in the present, yet he could see the thin lines of fractures that would worm into their hearts one day.

They were his pupils… they were good kids. Their souls were full of light and innocence, and he wanted nothing more than to protect them with his life. But… he knew he couldn't. It was never going to be like that, he told himself bitterly as he gazed deeply into his mask's eyes. He already knew, from what he had seen, that nothing good will turn out for them in the future.

After all, the greatest pain he would experience in his life would come eventually. He would be the one to inflict the most hurt they would have in their own... when he was gone.

* * *

 **To be continued... hope you enjoyed the chapter! =3**


	2. Promises

**Kingdom Hearts** ** _χ_** **\- Ink Bleed**

 **Kingdom Hearts** _ **χ**_ **[chi] and Kingdom Hearts Union** _ **χ**_ **[cross] belong to Disney and Square Enix. I do not own these games, this is a fanfiction.**

 **...**

 **EeveeGen9988: So, I know you were wondering when chapter 1 would be posted. Well, I had finals to take care of but now I have a break.**

 **I also had to refresh myself on the events that occurred during this point in time, so that took a bit. *sheepishly smiles and sweatdrops***

 **While doing this story, I will also be in the process of doing my main TWEWY projects TWEWY Unsealed Fates and TWEWY A Fall Into Honour, but this story will become my main KH story project. Usually when I mean main projects I mean these stories will be the ones I will be spending the most time on, so if I'm not posting Ink Bleed chapters, I'll likely be posting AFIH and UF chapters or maybe I'm busy with something else in my life, heh.**

 **So, I give you the next installation of Ink Bleed- voilà! =3**

 **[Edit: January 26th, 2019]**

 **EeveeGen9988: So, I realized two things about Kingdom Hearts** _ **χ**_ **[chi]... so I decided to temporarily take down chapter 1 to add some things. I hope this isn't a big** **inconvenience for all of you, and I didn't want to edit something in while half of you didn't know about it, so that's why I'm reuploading this chapter. I know a lot of people never played Kingdom Hearts** _ **χ**_ **[chi] (especially myself), but I may have added a bit to the addition of the chapter. I've never actually taken down a chapter before, so I hope I didn't scare anyone too much. The two things added is something small and something I found to be pretty interesting, so if you don't want to reread, it's okay.**

 **Chapter 2 is coming along in the future, don't worry. I'm just making sure I've been doing my Kingdom Hearts** _ **χ**_ **[chi] homework to make sure I don't mess up like this again (thank goodness for Kingdom Hearts** _ **χ**_ **[chi] walkthroughs!). Heh. =3**

 **...**

 **Chapter 1: Promises:**

* * *

Soft sunlight flowed through the window, making Auen scrunch her face as she rolled away and groaned.

The view from her window was always beautiful, but Auen kept forgetting to get curtains. She always wondered if a part of her secretly wanted to have sunlight shine in her eyes each day, but that couldn't be right… She sat up, rubbing her hazel eyes as she sighed. It was hard enough to pin down the Moogle Shopkeeper after missions, so she guessed if she had to choose between not being blinded in the morning or doing missions, she would do her duty as a Keyblade wielder.

Pulling herself to the edge of her wide bed, she dangled her legs before hopping off. Her landing was a bit clumsy, nearly stumbling backward, when she pressed her hands behind herself to grip the mattress to steady herself. She idly wondered why she hadn't asked for a smaller bed, but once again, if she didn't have her missions, she could do that. However, Auen knew she wasn't the only one with an oversized bed. On her first day, when Chirithy showed her to her dormitory, she had spied through the cracks of her dorm mates' doors and saw that their beds were akin to her own. If they had to climb onto their beds each day like she did, she decided complaining about the lack of curtains was enough. She shouldn't be ungrateful for the accommodations the Foretellers had provided for them...

Stretching her arms, she sighed, rubbing at her eyes again as she wandered towards her dresser on the other side of her room as she thought about this. She slowly eased the drawers open, collecting her clothes and placing them on top before changing into them. She had gotten on her black pan-collared blouse, dark grey capris, black belt, and white socks, about to grab her short-sleeved cardigan, when she heard a distinctive poof behind her.

"Good morning!" chirped Chirithy as they waved their paws up in the air, waddling up to her side while she hugged her waist-length cardigan to her chest. As they looked up at her, they squinted their blue eyes sadly. "Was the rest of your sleep good?"

The small, bipedal silver tabby normally didn't greet her in the morning... Auen supposed, after her dream last night, her white-caped companion was just checking up on her. Auen blinked, realizing this may have been the first time Chirithy appeared to her other than badgering her about her duties. Maybe there was something important Chirithy had to tell her...

"I don't think I dreamt anything, actually," she said truthfully, frowning when she looked at Chirithy with a slight shrug. "I still remember that first dream…"

Chirithy was quiet, rubbing their paws together when they spoke, "What was it again?"

"The Foretellers, the guy in the black coat…" Auen nodded to herself in thought, ambling over to her tall mirror by the dresser. Gazing into it, she smoothed down her below chin-length, bobbed ash brown hair. "And the main tower…"

As she slid on her deep magenta cardigan, soon adjusting her pan-collared shirt from under it, Chirithy poofed on the top of the dresser with a little puff of sparkly smoke and hopped. "I think it must been a silly little dream, so don't think too hard about it today! Okay?"

"But, Chirithy…" Auen stopped to gaze at her Chirithy, watching them fidget with their small star pocketpurse. "I've never seen a place like that before… don't you think it means something?"

"It has to be the Foretellers' domain, so it's probably not a good idea to look for trouble there!" squeaked Chirithy as they waved their paws anxiously.

"I-I wasn't…" Auen paused, widening her eyes before exclaiming, "Actually, that's a great idea!"

" _What_!?" Chirithy cringed.

"Not cause trouble, of course," said Auen mindfully with a beam. "Look for the place-"

"No, no, no!" Chirithy cried in alarm. "Not good, not good-"

Auen noticed how frightened the bipedal cat was, frowning when Chirithy hopped up and down frantically. "You can't go there- you have a mission today! What if it takes you all day, and you go home tired, and-" They gave another jump as their voice became shrill. "It's not good to trespass there!"

"...O-Okay." Auen knew that Chirithy always knew best, so she sadly smiled. "I won't then."

Chirithy nodded, wiping a paw across their dark tabby-striped forehead. "Phew…"

As Auen sighed, she glanced around for her dark brown boots. Frowning, she paced around, grimacing as she couldn't see them anywhere. She peeked into her closet, frowning further when she didn't find them there, so she simply left it ajar as she wandered over to her bed. When she got to her hands and knees, she turned her head at the sound of another poof, noticing that Chirithy was over by her closet now.

"You could wear different boots today!" they chirped, waving a paw to the door.

"But my boots go well with my outfit!" protested Auen, groaning as she shook her head.

"You've worn that same type of outfit since we met, why not shake it up a _little_?" said Chirithy with a trill. Auen saw the silver and white tabby slip into the dimness, pushing the rest of the door open. "Or you can try a different one altogether…"

Auen scowled. "I like my current one, thanks."

"You have five of them, why not try wearing the ones you got during those special missions you went on?" asked Chirithy as they tried to cross their paws. For a moment they stared at her, soon squinting sadly. "I just think it's a shame to not wear them after working so hard to get them... I mean, you really had your heart set on that sweater vest…"

"One; it was too baggy on me. Two; I'm a creature of habit, Chirithy," said Auen with a huff, frowning back at her Chirithy. "And the last time I checked, _you're_ supposed to help guide me through my missions and my Keyblade duties… _not_ my wardrobe choices!"

Chirithy sighed, soon lowering their head. Auen knitted her eyebrows, and she wondered suddenly if Chirithy was actually trying to cheer her up. It made sense, when she thought about last night, since Chirithy looked so worried… Maybe she was making Chirithy even more concerned today?

She smiled ruefully at them, rubbing the side of her head as she murmured, "Sorry, Chirithy… I'll wear it. Just... not today, okay?" Her tabby companion perked up at that, merely nodding before turning to drag the folding door shut. Hoping that was enough to reassure Chirithy, she turned back and finally looked under her bed. "Ahah-" She stretched a hand under the bed, snagging her target fluently and brandished her favourite boots. " _Found 'em_!"

Auen got up, smiling until she noticed Chirithy was struggling to close her closet. She tossed her boots behind her, and rushed over to help her little companion. When it was closed, Chirithy merely hopped and waved their paws. "Well, we got a little time before the Union missions officially start for the day," they said, nodding as they soon chirped, "It wouldn't hurt to relax before leaving, especially when…"

She merely smiled down at them. "I'll be alright, Chirithy… Don't worry about me."

Chirithy looked saddened by that, which made Auen feel bad again but proceeded to sit on her bed, scooting back to keep her balance. Auen always liked to start early; Chirithy knew that. If she could get missions done fast enough, she could relax in the evenings and watch the stars come out during dusk. It was a little treasure she found the most rewarding after a long, hard day… Not the Jewels for a job well done, not the shards to strengthen her Keyblade Keychains, not the enhancements for her Cards…

Just her and the stars.

The ash brown haired girl felt a tinge of sadness as she fumbled her boots' tawny strings, grimacing as she fought to release them from their knots. No, it wasn't just that. She had her friends from the Worlds Chirithy led her to… but she also had her Chirithy. She looked over at them as they poofed onto her desk.

They were picking up some of the Keychains she was looking over but forgot to put away the night before, slowly placing them gently into the nearest drawer before shutting it. They soon started waddling to the other side of the desk with little warbles as they began to adjust her writing quills, and Auen couldn't help but smile faintly.

Chirithy was her mentor in her duties, like many other Keyblade wielders had. They were apparently made by the Master of Masters for that purpose, but Auen had to wonder if Chirithy was happy doing that. She had to admit, she was often disorganized and not the smartest… so she felt a lot of times it was a chore for Chirithy to look after her. Auen couldn't help but frown deeply at that, soon managing to bust another knot as she did. But there were also times that she felt like Chirithy was more than just a caretaker. She smiled again, recalling how pushy they were a few minutes ago and giggled only to stop when she noticed from the corner of her eye how Chirithy was watching her.

Auen slipped a boot on, starting to tie up the strings when she stopped. Her eyes felt achy, so she took a moment to rub at them when she felt something soft rap gently on her wrist. She blinked her eyes only to widen them when she found herself at her desk.

"What…?" Auen murmured stupefied; she could have sworn she was just at her bed, and merely scratched her head at that. She wondered idly if she was more tired than she had thought when she felt something fuzzy touch her wrist again. Auen flinched, soon turning to her right.

Chirithy was staring back at her as they stood on her desk, soon asking curiously, "What are you drawing?"

She merely stared at them for a while, watching Chirithy give her a funny look when they pointed their paw. Auen frowned, and looked forward only to find a parchment sitting innocently in front of her. Auen blinked in surprise, soon noticing her hand was gripping a quill. As she tilted her head to gaze at it, she spoke slowly, "What is this...?"

The small tabby's white muzzle twitched, leaning over to pick up and hold the parchment. "You were drawing."

Auen didn't understand what was going on, but she decided to check it out. There was a weird image on it with cogs and gears… was that some kind of place? She couldn't tell. There was a single short stroke of a line in the middle, so she felt as though this wasn't finished yet.

Furrowing her eyebrows, she quickly dropped her quill then sagged back into her chair. "I… I have no idea why."

"Huh." Chirithy cocked their head briefly to one side, soon tilting the page to peer down at it. "I didn't take you for a sketcher."

"Well, I don't sketch," said Auen, bewildered about why she had apparently drawn something like this. "I've never had the time to, or…"

"That's why I stopped you!" cried Chirithy in alarm, releasing the page.

"Because you don't want me to draw?" asked Auen, feeling even more confused as she took a hold of it before it landed. She could only frown when Chirithy wildly shook their head. "I should draw?"

"You're going to be late!" Chirithy shouted frantically.

"What do you mean, I still have-" Auen widened her eyes upon turning to the clock beside her, freezing when she realized Chirithy was right. "How did-" Auen got up quickly, pushing her chair back and turned only to yelp when she tripped. " _Aah_ -" She landed in a sprawl, moaning in pain when she felt dizzy. Slowly rising into a half-sitting position, she asked as she rubbed her head, "What happened…?"

"You didn't put your boot on right." Chirithy poofed over to her. They petitely placed her other boot down and twitched their muzzle, soon waddling and dragging it over to try to place it on her foot. "You're not so forgetful, Auen."

"I _know_ I'm not, I got to hurry!" she hissed anxiously as she tied her right boot strings, moving onto the other when Chirithy had it adjusted right. "Sorry, Chirithy… I'm not usually like this," she groaned as she finally tugged tautly at the strings, not acknowledging the satisfaction that they didn't unravel themselves as she met Chirithy's gaze miserably. "If you hadn't told me-"

"You can thank me later! Link your Cards, and get going!" urged the little cat, flapping their arms. "I'll debrief the mission with you at Fountain Square!"

Auen nodded, hurriedly standing up and pivoted to yank the desk drawers closest to her open. She shoved items around as she felt for her stashed Cards, digging her hands into other drawers to do the same thing until she scooped and tossed out the first nine Cards as she found them. Turning to where they landed on the floor, she summoned her starry purple and gold Keyblade, grimacing as it trembled in her poor grasp before leaning down. She awkwardly tapped Starlight's prongs on the Cards, watching them light up on contact, only to fall to the floor again to crawl over to the upside-down ones to flip them up before continuing. After the final card was linked, Auen willed her Keyblade away and sprang to her feet to thankfully reach for her red pouch last.

Briskly heading for the door, she was about to start wrapping the strap around her waist when she heard a deep slosh, promptly whipping her right hand up and stiffened when she noticed she was holding a quill and ink. Was the stress getting to her so much that she was going to take all of her belongings with her today!? Shakily breathing shallowly, she moved to her desk only to recoil violently when Chirithy poofed right where she was going to place them.

"Take those with you-" the tabby cried, waving her paws. "You don't have more time to waste!"

"But I don't need them!" Auen protested shrilly in a gape.

"Arguing with me about this is making you even _more_ late, Auen!" shouted Chirithy before they pointed stiffly at the door. " _Just go_!"

Auen immediately made a strangled noise in her throat. **'I _could_ have been out the door if you just let me drop them off!'** She clenched the items harder as she looked anxiously between them and Chirithy, panicking when her eye caught the time of the clock again before struggling to unlatch her gold pouch buckle. Stuffing the quill and ink in clumsily, she didn't bother fastening it as she bolted to throw open and slam the door closed as she flew for the stairs.

Of all days… _why_ did she have to lose track of time _today_!?

* * *

When she got to the familiar fountain, she could barely catch her breath as she skidded to a stop. Panting, she looked down at Chirithy before wheezing, "Wh-What's my mission…?"

As she continued gasping for air, she frowned when Chirithy squinted their eyes. "Another wielder got your target shortly after I arrived."

"Wh-What!?" Auen gaped, widening her hazel eyes as she asked worriedly, "Why would they do that?"

"I told you that you were going to be late!" cried Chirithy with a hop, giving a groan shortly after as they lowered their head, "...I just hope this isn't going to be the case if you get more dreams like that..."

"B-But why would they do that!?" Auen could only gulp in another breath before sitting on the stone fountain, feeling dazed as she groaned, " _What_ am I going to do...?"

"You're not the only Keyblade wielder, Auen," said Chirithy simply as they turned to her. "Others like you have missions from the Foretellers, and it can be fair game if you don't have your wits about you." Auen grimaced at that, soon watching as Chirithy waved their paw. "Look, you may have lost your target, but you can find another one."

"But what if someone was assigned that to one?" asked Auen nervously, shaking her head. "I _don't_ want to repeat what happened to me to someone else!"

"Then you need to do what you usually do during long missions," Chirithy replied firmly. "Aid those in need."

Auen relaxed slightly at that, soon nodding reluctantly. She craned her neck to glance around, studying the long rows of pastel houses that were on the upper and lower terraces from her perch, soon murmuring with uncertainty, "But the town's mostly Keyblade wielders, right?" Chirithy gave a nod, and she sighed, "Then who-"

" _Help_!"

Instantly, Auen shot to her feet, widening her eyes. **'That doesn't sound good!'**

"Don't just stand there!" Chirithy hopped up and down anxiously. "Go help them before someone else does!"

Auen didn't spare a thought about it and ran to where she heard the terrified cry. She looked around the square, soon hearing another cry, " _Please_ help me…!" Auen realized it was the Moogle Shopkeeper, so she burst into their shop, turning to find the white and gold robed Moogle at the counter.

"Don't worry-" Auen summoned Starlight and raised it in the air. "I'm here to help-" She glanced around, only to lower her Keyblade in confusion at the otherwise empty shop. "...You?"

Where was the Heartless?

" _Oh_ _good_ , kupo!" The Moogle Shopkeeper clapped to Auen's confusion, causing her to knit her eyebrows before desummoning her Starlight. The Shopkeeper raised his arms, slightly moving them stiffly as he spoke, "There's this _big_ , _scary_ monster in Waterfront Park, kupo!" He shook his head, hanging it soon. "If I have to close off shop, my regulars will be lost, kupo! Can you take care of it?" He leaned forward, quivering. " _Please_ , kupo?"

Auen felt that the Shopkeeper was being a bit paranoid if he cared more about losing a few precious Jewels and Munny than the 'monster' itself, but nodded regardless of what she thought. A cry for help was a cry for help, right? And the Moogle Shopkeeper needed her help once again.

"Thanks, now get to it, kupo," said the Moogle dismissively, turning away with a happy hum. Auen stared at the little Shopkeeper absently, soon deciding to leave before he tried to get her to purchase something she didn't need _again_.

Auen closed the door with a sigh, promptly looking down when Chirithy poofed from the fountain to her to. They chirped with a tilt of their head, "Good?"

The ash brown haired girl smiled with a nod, and Chirithy poofed away immediately. She didn't quite understand why Chirithy was quick to leave her when her objectives were clear, but assumed Chirithy didn't want to get in the way of her battles. Which, made sense… but it would be nice if they didn't disappear until coming back to give her further directions in missions. She wouldn't mind having her Chirithy walk with her or just stepping away from battles whenever Heartless grew near… but she knew her Chirithy must have had better things to do while waiting for her to finish the mission.

Auen couldn't help but frown at that, yet she mentally held up her chin when she noticed Heartless were near the fountain. After a few blunt swings of her Keyblade, she rushed off after the stragglers who were crawling out of the area, quickly dealing with them as well and collecting the light she had freed into her trusty Power Bangle. Upon stopping, she spotted more further up the sloped road...

Taking in a deep breath, Auen steeled herself as she tightened her grip on Starlight.

It wouldn't be so bad to take care of a few more Heartless on the way to the park, right?

* * *

Auen found that Heartless kept getting in her way as she worked her way through the town, not bothering to stop attacking them until she finally arrived at the waterfront. Instead of admiring her surroundings like she usually did, she focused more on the Heartless roaming the area until she found her new target.

It was when she neared the bed of flowers that she spotted it, an Invisible… fighting a curly, silver haired boy with a wine red scarf. Gaping in surprise, Auen worried for a second she must have gotten another wielder's target. She decided to leave it for the boy, not wanting to repeat what happened to her to him.

She took a moment to notice how he had a short black jacket over a buttoned white shirt, along with dark brown pants and black boots. His Keyblade was the same as hers, a Starlight… Come to think of it, almost all the Keyblade wielders used Starlight more than the other Keychains they received. Unlike them, the boy and Auen had upgraded theirs into its stronger golden and purple starry form. She stepped closer to observe the fight, soon noticing the pouch that was slung around his waist was the same as hers as well. She didn't know why, but she couldn't help but crack a smile at that fact... even if his was tan instead of pastel red.

Auen kept her eyes on him as he fluently brought his Starlight up to block a swing then stepped back slightly, his turquoise eye moving to briefly skim to his left then right... Wait, why was he turning his head to _her_ when he was fighting the Heartless!? As the tall, black imp Heartless raised its long sword in the air, menacingly growling, Auen went pale because the boy wasn't even checking on his enemy! **'What are you doing!? Stop looking at me, look at-'** Auen widened her eyes in appall. **' _Oh no_!'**

The boy must have noticed her distress on her face during his gawking because the moment he frowned, he finally faced his opponent again with only a split second to whip up his Keyblade to block again. This time, the boy was bowled over into rolling across the patch of flowers with a cry, landing with a grimace and propping himself up in a daze as the Invisible lunged to charge after him. He thrust himself into voluntary roll while disturbing the flowers to evade the next strike, starting to get up only to duck to his hands and knees as the sword cleanly cut through the air instead of him.

Shaking her head at the horrific scene unfolding before her... Auen saw enough!

She darted towards the ornamental flower patch, only to slow down when the boy finally returned to his feet to successfully block another attack this time. As she stopped, she contemplated if the boy would be okay on his own now only to receive the answer when the boy pressed his feet hard into the ruined bed of flowers.

His eyes hardened as his muscles bunched, with the silver haired boy practically flying up into the air seconds later as light crackled from his Keyblade's prongs. The hovering Invisible only snarled defiantly as the boy swung his blade into its chest as light and stars sprinkled out from the impact. The boy was rebounded briefly before he was swinging and soaring back to deal more combos until the Heartless dissipated into haze. He landed squarely in the remains of the flower patch, panting briefly as he stood there.

Auen was relieved that was over, sighing as she almost thought the Invisible was going to...

When the boy sagged forward, she stopped her train of thought and she ran up to him. As she drew closer, she faltered in her steps upon flinching when she heard him finally speak, "I'm alright." Despite his words, Auen still gazed at him with worry while he peered up at her slightly, frowning as she closed more distance to stand in front of him. When Auen noticed how he looked ready to topple over, she offered a hand which he grasped instantly with his black gloved one. Beaming, she helped him up, hearing him chuckle lightheartedly, "Thanks, I guess I got a little cocky."

Giving a small laugh of her own, Auen released his hand to give him more room and watched as the boy unsummoned his purple and gold Keyblade. When he straightened his posture, he seemed relaxed as he faced her. She almost expected him to start chatting her ear off when all he did was gaze at her again. She wondered if there was something on her face, and moved her hands to lightly pat her face just to check. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary... so what was so interesting that he was staring at her so much?

When she looked back at him, he adverted his gaze, making a weird expression before murmuring, "...Sorry."

Auen screwed up her expression. **'Huh?'**

He blinked, his eyes flickering back to her as he spoke, "I'm Ephemer, I belong to the Leopardus Union." He beamed brightly after that. "Nice to meet you!"

Instead of asking him about his staring, she decided dwelling on the matter too much wasn't important. She softened her expression as she nodded, giving a smile back when she put her own Keyblade away. "I'm Auen from the Vulpes Union," she replied happily.

"Looks like we're on different teams," he replied mildly as his turquoise eyes lit up, and Auen nodded as she noted how nice the boy seemed despite that fact. She was used to not paying attention to who belonged to which Union, so to finally meet someone from a different Union than Vulpes made her curious about why some people chose different ones if they all had the same goal. She didn't really know which one to choose when she first got her Keyblade, but if she had chosen Leopardus, then maybe she would have met Ephemer sooner… He waved his hand slightly as he continued, "But I'm working on something other than my Union task today, so think of me as Union-free for the day."

Auen tilted her head up slightly in surprise, wondering if the Invisible hadn't been his target. But, more importantly, why wasn't he focusing on his mission when it was a vital goal for each day? Was all Leopardus Keyblade wielders this lax with their missions? Were other wielders like this? Auen couldn't figure out a single reason why this boy would purposefully skip out on his mission… unless he didn't have a mission? But why would he be out here nearly being overtaken by an Invisible if he didn't have a mission?

Her head hurt; this was confusing and nothing added up.

"What could be more important than completing our missions?" she asked uneasily, frowning at the boy.

Ephemer rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Hmm." He kept his hand resting on his nape when he spoke, "I guess I can tell you what it is, since you helped me out." He rubbed his head again, soon speaking quietly, "Can you keep a secret?"

Before Auen replied, Ephemer surprised her when he drew closer, making her take a step back before he leaned in. "The Worlds we visit-" he started in hush, gesturing slightly, "the Worlds of fairy tales-" He paused briefly, his turquoise eyes were nothing but calm pools. "Are nothing more than holograms." Auen blinked and gaped in shock before Ephemer added, "You know, projections."

"You can't be serious!" She felt her eyes grow wide, waiting for the boy to deliver a punchline to this terrible joke... But he said nothing, simply keeping his gaze locked with hers. "...You're serious," she murmured, and he nodded solemnly, causing Auen to frown. "So, you're saying... all the friends I made in those Worlds… aren't real?" asked Auen nervously, and Ephemer sadly smiled at that. Auen felt her eyes well up, shaking her head before she exclaimed, "But what about the Heartless!? O-Or the light we need to get every day!?" He made a shushing motion, and she bit her lip. She looked around in case anyone heard before looking back at him. "...Is that fake as well?" she whimpered.

"The light we collect there is actually our World's light," he replied quietly with a calmness she couldn't believe he had from knowing this. "It would be impossible to replicate Lux, so it might have been simple to store it away for us to collect later." He put on a sad smile again, dipping his head, once and a while bobbing it slightly as he murmured on, "So here we're all thinking it's entirely from those Worlds... when really we're recycling our own."

Auen put her hand over her mouth, looking at the ground as she felt her heart race at the thought she was actually not speaking to real people the whole time. Everything that happened in the Worlds she visited felt real, how could it not be real? She couldn't wrap her head around this. Did everyone but her know that? Was she that caught up in making friends to overlook the details? Auen could only feel sick to her stomach as she forlornly met Ephemer's gaze again. Ephemer said it was a secret, so maybe she wasn't the only one oblivious to this now? There was a reason why the Worlds were fake, wasn't there? Or was Auen just imagining this?

Ephemer hung his head when warmth tingled behind Auen's hazel eyes, soon turning and walking off a few steps before speaking again, "Um… to put it simply: There's lots of Worlds, right? And they're all connected by land." His voice cracked slightly when he went on, "But it's impossible to go around to all of them."

He turned back to face her sadly. "That's why there's a mechanism that projects those Worlds here, and allows us to collect Lux from faraway lands." Auen nodded slowly, still feeling glum. The thought that she made friends with fake people didn't make her feel good, but she listened to Ephemer as he went on in a more solemn tone, "I'm gathering information, trying to see to see how the whole thing works. My hunch is that the Book of Prophecies held by the Foretellers is what's creating these holograms.

"Get it?" he asked when Auen pondered his words, frowning slightly. "Or have I lost you?"

Auen widened her hazel eyes, waving her hand in alarm. "Oh no, I totally get what you're saying, Ephemer," she said quickly, frowning. "I-I was just wondering maybe there was a reason the Foretellers had to do this. They are in charge of Daybreak Town and the Unions, after all..."

"Good." He smiled happily. "It makes sense." Auen nodded, watching as he grew thoughtful. "Anyway, we're in this town, gathering the light that belongs to this vast World…" He hung his head with a slightly distressed expression spreading over his face. "Not just gathering, fighting over it, without a reason why." He paused, soon going on as his eyes brightened, "After a little bit of digging, I discovered all the Unions have different goals."

Auen immediately shook her head in dismay. "You can't be serious… we're all gathering light to protect it from Heartless and fend off the Darkness!"

"But are we really?" Ephemer asked gloomily. "If we all had the same goals, why would we have to choose different Unions, Auen?" After he spoke, his eyes seemed to grow sadder as he held her gaze.

Auen knitted her eyebrows. "Why wouldn't we-"

Her dream blinked through her mind, hearing the voice of the man vaguely but managing to get the idea he said, _"You all will be given different tasks by me one day…"_

She gasped, making Ephemer ask in surprise, "What is it?"

The ash brown haired girl immediately rushed over, quickly explaining, "I had a dream last night, where I saw the Foretellers, and the main tower, with a black cloaked man." She waved her hand and frowned. She knew Ephemer wouldn't probably believe her, seeing as it was weird she got this dream out of the blue. She hadn't seen that place before, so how could she know what it looked like inside or if it actually existed anyway? Auen hoped Ephemer wouldn't call it a silly dream like Chirithy did, but if he did, maybe she really was imagining things… "The coated man was discussing roles, I think, but that's the gist I felt he was saying. I couldn't quite hear him say that exactly… but I felt like he had."

"Really?" Ephemer said intently, his posture shifting slightly. "Interesting…"

She bit her lip. Perhaps Ephemer didn't quite get the whole picture, so she took a deep breath. "I know, it's silly, but I haven't been there before." She half-closed her eyes sadly. "So I don't know why I would imagine a place like that…"

"Auen, what are you talking about?" Ephemer asked mildly with a chuckle, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I believe you."

"W-Wait, you do!?" she asked incredulously. "Doesn't it seem crazy to you?"

"Have you met all the Foretellers yet?" he asked calmly, and when Auen shook her head he furrowed his eyebrows. "Then how could you say it's not true?"

"I-I don't know, I don't think it's a type of dream other Keyblade wielders have, Ephemer," Auen chuckled nervously, hanging her head. Ephemer was silent for a while, and she wondered if he was rethinking his quick decision to believe her when he patted her shoulder, making her look up in surprise.

"Hey, I got an idea," Ephemer said, cracking a smile. "Why don't you come with me?"

"Um… go where?" she asked with uncertainty, frowning immediately.

"Well, that room you mentioned, Auen," he said in amusement. "Where else?"

"Really?" she asked, widening her eyes. "You actually believe me?"

"Of course I do, I... told you that already," he replied with a chuckle. "Dreams like that are uncommon, right? So it has to mean something important." He frowned briefly. "How come you still think I don't believe you?"

" _Well_ … i-it's not really…" She then shook her head, knowing that it wouldn't be a good time to explain further. He believed her, why should she give him a reason to walk away? "I-It's nothing, I'll come," she murmured reluctantly with a nod, shaking the memory out of her head.

"Great!" He smiled at her brightly, and in return, she gave the best smile she could muster back. "Then let's go to that place in your dream."

She nodded happily and followed after him, unaware of the sounds of two poofs.

* * *

Leading him to the bridge nearby the tower, Auen tilted her head up to gaze at it. It was hard to believe she was standing here with a companion, about to try to break into it after having a weird dream concerning it… She recalled how Chirithy told her to not go there, feeling a worm of regret that from the excitement she shared with Ephemer she broke the promise she made with her Chirithy. But, upon looking at Ephemer, she had an inkling he knew what he was doing. She didn't know why she felt that, but she found it to be easy to trust him despite just meeting.

"Here's the tower…" She smiled nervously, gesturing in a shaky wave and closed her eyes. "Just don't know how we're going to get into it, though."

When she reopened her eyes, Ephemer calmly mused, "So you don't know where the room is?"

Auen cringed internally, nodding before they both stared upwards again. It was a huge arching clock tower that Auen could only imagine would take hours scaling stairs to reach the top of it, so she kind of wished she had a way to teleport into it… She remembered seeing Master Ava teleport via a portal, so maybe that was the way they got into the tower. Immediately, her heart sank. **'Maybe there isn't another way in…?'** She frowned. **'Maybe Foretellers can only access the tower?'**

Ephemer didn't seem as worried as she was. "I've been here a few times, but I haven't found a way in."

Instantly, Auen slumped forward and groaned internally. **'Oh great… maybe we're just on a wild goose chase.'**

"Alright," said Ephemer, and she heard him walk up and pat her shoulder and softly smiled. "Let's split up and see if we can get in somehow."

She turned to him, beaming with a nod and he beamed back before they ran off. She couldn't help but feel encouraged by how confident Ephemer was, so maybe there was a way in.

As they went about their own ways through the interconnected districts, Auen looked around the areas, making note that there was no entry points she could find. She was beginning to wonder if maybe she was right, and that only Foretellers could teleport there when a thought struck her. She turned back, glancing around until she spotted Ephemer nearby the canal, and trotted up to him.

"Hey," she said, and he turned to her expectantly. "Maybe we need to look someplace else?"

Ephemer placed a hand on his chin, silent for a while, but then nodded. "That actually makes sense…" He looked back at the water, blinking before he whipped his head back and chirped, "Hey- you know that canal?" Auen tilted her head to one side in confusion, and he rubbed the back of his head. He paused to remove his hand, gesturing his palm up and waved it slightly. "You know, one of the canals further up the road from Foundation Square? The second one you'd use the stairwell to get to?" Auen gasped when she recalled it, nodding with an 'uh-huh'. Ephemer smiled happily at that, soon looking into her eyes as he explained, "Lately… I've noticed that the water seems to have dried up. So I was thinking, that there's a chance it could be a sewer system, but I haven't had time to check it out."

Auen nodded, watching as he soon furrowed his eyebrows. "Huh… I could have sworn you were more talkative?" She merely shrugged, but he gave a chuckle. "It's not a bad thing to talk, y'know?" When she nodded again, he soon became silent before he spoke mildly, "I was just thinking, maybe we should take a break?"

"But we're so close to finding it," she gasped in surprise.

"Well, for a second, I just thought you looked tired," he replied with a slight frown. "You were doing your mission before we met, right?"

"Yeah... my improvised one..." Auen said in a mumble. She frowned for a few seconds, soon blurting out anxiously, "But if we push through-"

Ephemer shook his head. "It's not good to tire yourself out," he said and waved his hand at her. "What if a Heartless overtakes you because you decided to not rest?" When she merely stared at him, furrowing her eyebrows, he added with concern, "And you did mention something about waking up after your dream on the way here, so that could have messed up your sleep cycle in some way…"

"Well, it gets the job done," she huffed indignantly, shrugging once again. "What if I get a challenging mission one day, and I'm stuck in that World until midnight? Won't that ruin my sleep cycle for _that_ night?"

"True, but you still need to take care of yourself, Auen," he said, soon giving a chuckle, "Pacing yourself is a good strategy in the long run, so let's just take a moment and rest up at Fountain Square. Sound good?"

Auen frowned, feeling uncertain about it, but gave a slow nod.

* * *

As soon as they sat down on the fountain, Ephemer closed his eyes and sighed contently. He soon asked, "Now, how do you feel…?"

Auen blinked, clasping her hands on her lap before murmuring sheepishly, "Better, I guess?"

"Good, good." Ephemer beamed, giving a laugh as he turned to look at her, "That's why you should try this more often, Auen. You can conserve your energy, think about things, and have a moment to really take in the atmosphere."

Auen gaped slightly in silence, and turned her head. She noticed how other Keyblade wielders were running around, probably off on their own missions, and even watched some take down some Heartless that popped up randomly on purple rooftops in the distance. She didn't realize how many other Keyblade wielders like herself were in the town, and she guessed there were even more adventuring in the Worlds- the fake Worlds- that Ephemer explained.

A pang of sadness went through her, and she lowered her head as she thought about her own adventures. Despite how much she wanted to say Ephemer was wrong about it, she felt as though it was true. Whenever she went on her missions, she thought it was odd how Heartless kept returning, or how when she decided to redo parts of missions that the same scenes she saw before kept replaying. She always assumed maybe because she didn't do the mission right the first time, the same target Heartless she had to beat before would return and try to wreck the same havoc. But, it sure did explain why the people she met would have the same issues or repeat the same arguments they had before…

She shook her head; trying to not think about it. It wasn't like she felt included with the denizens of those Worlds anyway... In the back of the mind, she always felt like a passing stranger, and that made sense because those weren't the Worlds she belonged to in the first place. But now, knowing that the friendships she had weren't real, made her feel even lonelier inside. In fact, learning about this made it hard to understand why she felt the need to return to those Worlds, when all she would get is some pretense of social interaction. The amiss feeling she felt in Snow White's World now became clear; her heart was warning her about this.

"...You never did answer my question." The ash brown haired girl flinched, turning to Ephemer and yelping when she lost her balance in doing so. He immediately grabbed her hand when she felt herself tip dangerously backwards, and she shakily gasped when he pulled her back up before she hit the gentle water. Soon she steadied herself, ripping her hand away shortly after.

A few moments of silence later, when she faced the curly haired boy again, Ephemer rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry… didn't mean to startle you like that."

"It's okay," Auen said shakily, sheepishly laughing. "I guess I took your advice too seriously…"

He gave a little laugh when she said that, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah…" She quietly grinned, promptly taking off her pouch in case she almost fell into the fountain again and placing it safely beside her. As she turned back, she brushed a hand through her slightly damp hair and chuckled nervously, "Just, taking in the atmosphere, then just- everything just… _disappeared_ in my mind." She smiled tightly. "Eheh."

"Huh." He tilted his head to one side curiously, soon speaking, "Well, I was just mentioning you never answered my question from before."

Auen frowned. "...Which one?"

He looked at her funny. "The one about why you thought I didn't believe you about your dream…" He waved his hand. "Despite deliberately telling you that I did."

"Oh, yeah, that one…" Auen nodded uneasily, knitting her eyebrows. "U-Um…" She looked away, pressing her palms against her stone perch and stared out to the sky. "It's _kind_ of a sore spot for me…"

Ephemer frowned, but she began to speak quietly before he could, "A few days ago, when those Neoshadows appeared in town, I joined some other Keyblade wielders from my Union to deal with them." Ephemer nodded, and seemed to be waiting for her to continue so she did. She looked at her lap, clasping her hands together as the painful memory came to her. "We were supposed to meet up in the Moogle Shop after we finished, but when I arrived... Chirithy told me the guy who organized the Heartless Hunt couldn't make it. A-And none of the others did as well." She shifted, closing her eyes as she murmured sadly, "I-I was the only one who made it back that day."

"That's… unfortunate." When Auen nodded quietly in agreement, Ephemer spoke uneasily, "D-Did they…?"

Auen nodded again, somber as she thought back. "I learnt later on… they were gone for good."

For a while, Ephemer was silent, but then he spoke firmly, "I kind of wish I was there that day, to at least help with the Heartless so that didn't happen."

"It's not like you could have done anything to stop that," Auen replied with a shrug, turning to him. "It's easier to believe they were lying through their teeth than what actually happened to them."

Ephemer shook his head. "But that's _no_ good." He clenched his hands. "Making a promise, only to... " He sighed, closing his eyes. "Now that makes sense... At least you weren't being distrustful earlier because we're from different Unions... you didn't want to get hurt again."

"But, does it really matter?" Auen asked with another shrug, her voice cracking when she lowered her head. " _Anyone_ can break a promise, Ephemer."

"...I wish there wasn't a way for that…" he murmured, soon becoming silent. As she waited to see if he was going to say anything else, she turned away and fumbled through her pouch, hoping the fidgeting would calm her down. Okay, she may have made things worse by making it seem like she was distrustful and easily hurt, which _was_ true… So, she hoped, if Ephemer had common sense, for him to just walk away instead of staying out of sympathy.

"You don't have to stay," she said quietly. "You didn't have to in the first place."

Ephemer gave her a weird look. "What's wrong if I do?"

"Well, I'm _not_ trying to make myself as a sob story," she said shortly. "So it's nice that you do believe me, but it's easier to watch people walk away than having them pretend to like you."

"Well," he said with a frown, soon shaking his head and giving a beam. "You're certainly different than the others."

She gave him a small shrug. "Neh… you're just saying that."

"No, really," he said firmly, locking his gaze with her. "My dorm mates don't seem to care about whether or not I do do the missions for the day. And let me tell you... " He closed his eyes, sighing, "Some days, it feels like I'm dorming with holograms than actual humans." Auen gave a snort of laughter, and he then smiled brightly. "And let me guess: You don't feel a connection with your dorm mates either?"

"I never see my dorm mates, actually," she said sheepishly. "I'm the first to wake up, and the last to return." She gave a slight frown. "But I do know I have dorm mates..."

"Then that makes us twins." Ephemer beamed, and Auen gave a giggle. "I mean, out _here_ , Daybreak Town or elsewhere…" His eyes glowed with warmth as he spoke, "Everyone is gathering Lux mindlessly, fighting for it, and not even realizing they're interacting with holograms in those fake Worlds…" He paused, blinking. "Or… they don't care about whether or not they're talking to holograms." He soon looked back at her, his eyes starting to sparkle. " _But_ , I don't get to meet people who actually think differently. It's a refreshing change."

"But we're still protecting the Worlds from the Darkness, right?" Auen asked somberly, in which he nodded.

"It's not that bad, but imagine what would happen if anyone turned on each other?" asked Ephemer uneasily, and Auen frowned at that. "Lately… I just have a bad feeling something is happening, but I don't know what exactly."

"What do you mean?" the ash brown haired girl asked in confusion.

Ephemer shrugged. "Here's the thing: I think it's connected to whatever is in the Book of Prophecies." He waved his hand slowly. "And if I investigate what that is, it would make it easier to just solve the problem."

Auen nodded.

"By the way," Ephemer said mildly, leaning closer to her for some reason. She blinked in surprise, wondering why he was doing that when he chirped, "You _really_ have a knack for that, Auen."

"...What do you mean?" she asked bemusedly, staring at him when he gave a chuckle.

"Your picture." He smiled tenderly.

Auen blinked, slowly looking at her parchment where her quill was hovering over again. Now the image from before looked more detailed: a platform with cogs and gears surrounding it, and a single figure stood on it…

"Now, I have to say," said Ephemer in amusement, looking down at her page as he tapped his chin. "You got all my right spots, so I can't really give you tips to make it better."

To Auen's shock, she found that she had drawn Ephemer in the middle of the platform.

She dropped her quill, and stared at Ephemer incredulously as she cried out, "W-Wait- I don't draw!" She looked back at her page, shaking her head wildly before she blurted out, "I mean, I drew this morning… but I've never- I don't draw!"

"You can't pull wool over my eyes," said Ephemer warmly, ruffling her hair playfully. "You're a natural!"

She felt a little dazed suddenly, watching as he leaned over then rose to hand her back her quill. The moment he resettled himself where was before, he tapped his chin again. "Hey… I might have been lying about the tips… but how about a little speech bubble and give me a good quote to say?"

Auen almost cringed away from him, staring at him wide-eyed as she sputtered, "I-I…" She looked back at the parchment, soon tilting her head to one side. "For some reason, I just want to leave it as it is."

Ephemer shrugged with good nature. "Eh, I guess I shouldn't argue with the artist."

"I-I'm not…" She lowered her head. "I-I…"

Suddenly, Ephemer's eyes lit up. "Hey, now you just gave me an idea, Auen," said Ephemer with excitement, smiling as he made some kind of drawing gesture. "Think you can... whip up a map for us as well?" asked Ephemer mindfully, tilting his head slightly as he looked at her with mild curiosity.

" _Well_ , that's kind of harder than a _silly_ drawing…" said Auen with a little sheepish giggle as she hastily put the drawing away, shoving her ink and quill in as well before fastening the pouch buckle. "And I only have one page, Ephemer."

"Aw…" He pouted, puffing out his cheeks slightly. He lowered his head, shrugging. "I thought it might have been a good idea to map out the sewer system when we got there, _but_ I guess using the backside of your drawing could ruin it."

Auen gave an unsure nod, wondering why she began to draw out of the blue like that when Ephemer hopped off the fountain. "Well, I think we got enough rest, haven't we?" Auen nodded again, and got up, placing her pouch back on and joined him at his side. "It might take us a while, but let's see how far we can get through that system today."

* * *

"Other than the entrance, this seems to be the only place that connects outside," said Ephemer as soon as they entered the sewer system. He summoned his Keyblade as they went down the stairs, and Auen did as well when he explained, "Be careful, there has to be a fair share of Heartless around here." She nodded, and they both walked along the platform.

As Auen found herself alone when Ephemer went on ahead, she couldn't help but note how familiar this place felt to her. It wasn't exactly like the room she saw the Foretellers and the black coated man in, but it felt like she had been standing here about a million times. She wondered if she had a mission here before, and maybe forgot about it… but that didn't feel right. She glanced around, stepping lightly across the gloomy passageway, surrounded by darkened water with few lamps dotting the area. Other than the swish of the current, the impact of the small waterfalls leaking through the gratings above… her breaths stifled upon the thought she may ventured here before even getting a Keyblade… Yet, that didn't sit well with her. It had only been about a month since she got her Keyblade…

Shaking her head, squinting in the gloom, she picked her way forward as she pondered why she felt like she returned to a place she hadn't been in years. Heartless popped out in front of her at that thought, and started before she dealt with them swiftly with her Starlight. She walked along the platform when her path was clear again, feeling nervous as she noticed after a few minutes that the area was starting to grow dimmer. It was making it harder to fight off Heartless unless she used any fire or light-based attacks from her Cards, and she didn't know if there was going to be any more lamps up ahead. With that thought, she shuddered at the idea of walking in complete darkness soon.

Her breathing grew shallower even as she continued through, feeling for the railing beside her to guide herself while trying to listen past her echoing steps for enemies. She hoped she wouldn't accidentally bump into a Heartless without warning, and wondered if she should have agreed to making a map if she came across any forks in the path. Even just being here was bated! Whether it was some kind of magic the Foretellers made to ward off any of the Keyblade wielders from stumbling into their abode, or if the warnings Chirithy gave her was subconsciously whispering to her, she had a need to just turn away and never return as if she wasn't welcome here because of a crime she did… She pressed on, fighting off that urge even when she felt her stomach churn and knot up along the way until she bumped into something.

She screamed and leapt back, summoning her Keyblade before she saw a flash of blue Lux stars illuminate Ephemer's face from his own Starlight. She stood stock still, breathing fast before relaxing slightly as embarrassment settled in her. "O-Oh... I'm _so_ sorry, Ephemer," she whimpered and hung her head. "I thought you were..." She frowned deeply, stopping herself when she heard him chuckle.

"Well..." Ephemer said good-naturedly, hearing him edge closer to her. "It's pretty dark, so I don't blame you for almost attacking me."

"Y-Yeah." Auen nodded, frowning deeply. She didn't know what else to say unless it ended with another apology, so she held her tongue and scolded herself for mistaking him for a Heartless.

As soon as she heard him stop walking upon feeling his arm brush against hers, he spoke up, "I guess it's too dark to go further. I think we should call it a day for now."

Auen hung her head. "Yeah..."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'll think about a way for us to continue, so how about we meet up again tomorrow?"

"Don't you have missions to do for your Union?" Auen asked uneasily, squinting as she turned and tried to see him.

"I think I may have one in Daybreak Town, but I'll double check with my Chirithy and let you know," he replied simply, soon giving a nervous chuckle, "I _do_ have to keep up with appearances, or Master Gula won't be happy with me... again." Auen nodded, but then wondered how many times Ephemer may have skipped his missions to warrant his Union Leader's attention. If she did that, she wasn't sure what Master Ava would do to her. She merely grimaced, shaking her head hoping she would never do that to find out for herself. She returned her attention to her companion when she heard Ephemer ask her curiously, "Do you have a mission for tomorrow?"

" _Mmm_ , I'm not sure yet." Auen screwed up her face. She started to paw at the railing as she started back for the way they came, following after Ephemer's footsteps when she realized he was walking away. "I don't really pay attention to them, so I usually let Chirithy tell me whenever I do." Upon finishing her sentence, she realized how irresponsible that made her seem. She groaned internally, and facepalmed herself when it occurred to her that she had just admitted that out loud to Ephemer when it was embarrassing enough as it was. Why couldn't she stop herself from saying that? She didn't want him to think she was irresponsible! Or that she could forget they would be meeting with each other tomorrow if she didn't even know when she had missions! Auen just wanted to sink into the ground right now...

He laughed, making her feel even worse about it. She flushed, trying to forget what she had said and opted to listen to him when he began speaking mildly, "Well, if you do, how about you just go to Fountain Square when you're done with your mission." She sighed mentally in relief he ignored her latter comment. "I'll make sure to finish mine as soon as I can, and wait up for you if you're held up by your mission."

Auen smiled, nodding. "Okay." With that, she let herself enjoy the silence they held as their surroundings slowly grew lighter.

As Ephemer raised his Keyblade against some Heartless that blocked their path later on, she did the same to assist him. However, when they finished, she soon realized something. They were meeting up tomorrow... it was another promise. She took longer to put her Keyblade away before she walked with Ephemer again, her thoughts drifting away and tarnishing her good mood as she began to hear Chirithy's voice echo in her head.

 _"He's not coming, but he left you a message. 'I'm sorry I couldn't keep our promise.'"_

She slowly frowned, feeling her chest constrict. The moment she started fighting against the warmness that threatened to gush down her face, she hoped that by the time they left the sewer system that Ephemer wouldn't notice her crying.

* * *

"As far as I know, you don't have a mission," said Chirithy as they turned to her as she adjusted her blankets, blinking at her curiously. "Were you hoping to go out tomorrow?"

"Um... I guess so." Auen adverted her eyes, biting her lip as she quietly went on, "I mean, I-I don't usually do, but I just thought maybe it would be nice to explore the town for once."

Chirithy nodded, bouncing a little. "Well, that sounds like a great idea! If you know the lay of the town, it'll be much easier for you to navigate during your future missions!" Auen gave a smile to that, glad that Chirithy didn't suspect what she really intended to do. When they soon stopped, she stiffened at how their voice grew stern. "Although, you have to be careful about any Heartless. Even if you're not on a mission, you still have to defend yourself."

"O-Okay." Auen nodded before relaxing, letting herself lay back down and closed her eyes. "I'll be careful."

She stayed still, unable to let herself feel relaxed from the thought that she had lied to Chirithy. Although, she didn't want them to know where she went... what if they tried to stop her from meeting with Ephemer? She didn't want to leave him thinking she abandoned him, that wouldn't be fair to Ephemer. Ephemer was expecting her, and she didn't want to let him down like that. Sure, they only met today, but that didn't mean she could do that to him. It wasn't right... he didn't deserve that.

"Are you okay?" Auen blinked her eyes open, turning her head to Chirithy.

"Sorry, I guess I'm having trouble falling asleep," she supplied with a weak smile, shaking her head. "Goodnight." She closed her eyes again, hoping she would sleep soon.

* * *

The next morning, she set out properly prepared despite how she felt tiredness tug at her slightly. She was surprised she was able to shake off Chirithy when they offered to join her, although, she kind of regretted it upon realizing they may have wanted to spend time with her. Auen heaved out a sigh, telling herself she'll bring Chirithy along the next time she decided to actually explore the town.

As she walked down the path, she kept out of the way when a Keyblade wielder jumped right into a battle with a Heartless that popped out of nowhere. She felt a little spooked, especially when the Keyblade wielder shot her a glare, so she hoped she wasn't going to get in the way of their mission. She wondered if the Heartless were holograms in the town as well, but didn't dwell on it too much as she continued on her way again.

Upon spotting the fountain in the distance, Auen quickened her steps. She carefully avoided any Heartless that were wandering on the walkway until she arrived at Fountain Square. She noticed Ephemer wasn't close by, so she decided to sit down on the fountain as she breathed in happily. **'Well, I'm sure he won't be too long.'** She placed her pouch down beside her, soon relaxing as she admired the view. **'I'll just relax and try to brainstorm some ideas before he gets here.'**

As she thought over the situation, she remembered how some of her attacks lit up the path when she fought against the Heartless. But, then again, she realized that she only brought along a few of them today. She grimaced, shaking her head. **'Why didn't I think about that sooner!? That could have been helpful yesterday!'** Upon pondering about it further, she groaned. **'Although... my Cards need to recover once and a while, so I guess unless Ephemer had some Cards like that, we would tire ourselves out quickly.'** Auen hung her head miserably, and tried to think of something else. While she did so, she slid her hand into the water, blinking before looking into the fountain.

She recalled how often she came to this fountain before she received her Keyblade... She didn't have any friends as a kid, so she often found herself wandering around the town after Master Ira brought her and other kids to live here. She never understood why, but there were no adults that came along to live in Daybreak Town with them. Auen was puzzled about this, and hardly remembered her parents... Maybe they were orphans? Maybe that's why Master Ira guided them here! She chided herself about that thought; it certainly wasn't like that. Why would she think that they were all orphans? She couldn't recall another place other than being in Daybreak Town, so maybe she shouldn't focus on something she couldn't even remember. Grimacing, she let herself continue to gaze down at the water, slowly relaxing as the coolness lifted her spirits.

 _"I mean, look at you! You're alone, but you're having the time of your life! Now that,_ that _my little friend... is_ something _."_

Auen stiffened, looking around in confusion. **'Who said that...?'** She spent a few seconds scanning the area, soon frowning as she pulled her hand out of the water and wiped them on her capris. **'I could have sworn someone was here.'**

She briefly thought about it, soon blinking. **'My little friend...'** She looked down at her lap, frowning. **'Does... I hope Chirithy doesn't find out about what I'm planning.'** She didn't know if Chirithy trusted her out of obligation because she was their assigned Keyblade wielder, or if they truly did trust Auen. For all she knew, Chirithy might not look away next time if they knew she was breaking their promise now, and she felt her heart twinge at the thought of them appearing any moment to check up on her. Surely they trusted her when they allowed her this time for herself, didn't they? But what if Ephemer arrived and Chirithy realized she was lying to them!? She wouldn't be able to explain the situation without making Ephemer confused about why she was lying to Chirithy! Oh no... Chirithy would definitely realize something wasn't adding up if _that_ happened. Sadly, she frowned deeply, clenching her hands and shook slightly. **'...I hope not.'**

The ash brown haired girl closed her eyes, inhaling shakily. **'I'm _so_ stupid... I should have at least told them I was meeting up with-'**

"I can't have you rent my wares!" Auen raised her head in surprise, turning to look over her shoulder in the direction of the yell. "I'm a shopkeeper, not a lender- what do take me for!?"

"But-"

" _Shoo_! If you're not here to buy, _get out_!" The fury in the voice made Auen blink in confusion, wondering what was going on but decided to just stay where she was. She didn't want to get roped into whatever was the problem.

Just before she turned to look back at the view, she spotted Ephemer running out of the Shopkeeper Moogle's shop and she jumped as the door slammed shut. As soon as Ephemer slowed to a stop, glancing back at the building, Auen immediately met his frazzled gaze when he looked forward again. **'He came!'** She stared at him for a short time, and watched as his eyes lit up. **'He actually came...'** A wave of happiness swept through her, awed at the thought he actually kept the promise.

"Oh, hey!" he hollered as he grinned. "Glad you could make it, Auen!" Auen beamed back, continuing to feel giddy as she eagerly got up after grabbing her pouch, dashing over to meet him.

"Hey yourself," she chirped as she slowly slid her pouch's strap around her waist, clipping the fastener as she noted, "I didn't think you'd already be here."

Ephemer merely shrugged happily. "I got my Chirithy to ask Master Gula if I could start my mission early." He rubbed the back of his head, soon grimacing with a chuckle, "Although... trying to convince the Moogle Shopkeeper was _another_ story."

Auen frowned. "Um... what for?"

"I was thinking of how I'd light the sewer," he said as he grew relaxed, smiling as he eyed the building behind him for a brief second. "So I came to this shop to borrow some candles... but was refused."

"Candles?" Auen blinked as he looked at her again, soon gaping slightly at the thought. "I didn't even know he _had_ candles."

"It was a shot in the dark... but surprisingly, yeah. He has candles." Ephemer nodded, half-closing his eyes with another chuckle, "He just didn't like the idea of loaning me one."

"I sort of heard that, heh." She smiled more at him, soon frowning when he closed his eyes. "But if he didn't..."

"Why don't you try asking too?" he said as he crossed his arms, causing her to blink in surprise. "Just because I couldn't get him to agree, doesn't mean you can't."

"W-Well..." She grimaced, shaking her head. "The _only_ thing he's interested in is Jewels and Munny..."

Ephemer's expression grew thoughtful. "It can't hurt to try, right?"

"I guess?" Auen screwed up her face. "But I doubt I can sway his opinion, Ephemer." He gave her a skeptical expression as she explained, "Every time I've entered his shop, it's all about what _Cards_ I'm interested in buying... or if I wanted to _enhance_ them..."

"Like I said: It can't hurt to try." Ephemer playfully smiled, soon putting his hand on her shoulder. "And I know you got this."

Auen sighed, shaking her head. "All I got is if I'm able to keep my wallet closed or not." She smiled tightly, waving her hands in front of her slightly. "I-I mean, I _can_ try, but expect that we'll have to get them somewhere else." She nervously laughed, "Don't be surprised when _I'm_ being yelled at to leave the shop."

"Don't worry, I trust you," he said simply, patting her shoulder before he ambled towards the fountain.

Slowly, Auen blinked slowly. **'Trust me?'** She glanced at him just as he was sitting down, staring at him until he gave an encouraging nod before nodded herself. **' _Well_ , even if I don't succeed, we can work out our problem together.'** She turned in the direction of the shop, marching for the door. **'Auen, you can do this. Y-Yeah! You can. Doesn't matter if you fail... no pressure.'**

As soon as she was inside the dimly lit shop, she saw the Moogle Shopkeeper slouching as he grumbled, "Why don't they get it... _this_ is a shop! That practically speaks 'Buy from me!'! 'Give me your Jewels and Munny!'! _Not_ 'I want to loan, loan, loan!'!" He raised his arms. "Kids these days..." Sighing, he shook his head as he rested his arms on the counter.

Auen came up to the counter, watching as he stiffened, soon squinting at her. "Uh...?" He stood up straighter, his sleeves connecting and she imagined he was holding his paws together. "...You want to borrow candles too, kupo?" he asked meekly.

"Actually, yeah, I-" She stopped when one his sleeves shifted, moving to touch his chin. "Y-Yeah." She grimaced. **'I knew I couldn't do it...'**

" _Hmm_ , you helped a lot after all," he said mindfully, nodding soon. "Okay then." Turning, he reached under the counter to Auen's shock. She opened her mouth, only to watch as a single candlestick was placed on the surface, perched on a copper candle holder. "You can take one, kupo."

For a few seconds, Auen stared at him, soon leaning down to grasp it close to her chest before breathing quietly, "Th-Thank you so much..."

After nodding, the light-robed Moogle waved at her. "Remember, buy lots next time, kupo." Auen frowned, turning before hearing him grumble again, "Of course... when you give something away for free, they'll be sure to buy more, _kupo_..."

She pretended she didn't hear him say that.

Upon exiting the shop, Auen slowly approached Ephemer, only stopping when he got up to hurry over. "You got it!" As Auen nodded, he smiled at her brightly. "I _knew_ you could get it."

"Well, I didn't-" Auen started to say nervously, soon shaking her head sheepishly before giving it to him. "I hardly did anything, actually."

The silver-haired boy shook his head. "Oh no, you did great!" He carefully took ahold of it, looking down as he adjusted his grip. "Now we can get through the sewer!"

 **'I didn't really do much...'** Auen merely watched him, frowning slightly. **'If I hadn't done all those tasks for the Moogle Shopkeeper, we'd be at a loss for what to do.'**

"So, how about we continue our search?" he chirped as soon as he faced her again.

Auen gave a slow nod and smiled, walking with him as they set out.

* * *

As soon as they got over to the sewer system again, Ephemer looked around before he put his hand on his chin. "It's bright enough to see, so I think I'll light the candle when it's too dark again."

"I kind of wish it didn't get dark like that," said Auen nervously, spotting some Heartless on the platform already. "We probably would have gotten to the room yesterday." For a few seconds, she paused, soon waving her hand. "Unless we took too much time to _relax_ , then maybe not."

"Heh, I'm sure we had enough rest to push through," said Ephemer as he stared forward again, Auen mirroring him to look at the Heartless. "...Hopefully no one saw us enter."

Auen shook her head. "I don't think anyone saw us." As Ephemer edged closer to the Heartless, she went on, frowning when she recalled her interaction in the morning, "They may have been focused on their missions, or didn't care."

"A lot of people care, but not all of them are invested in sharing what they see," replied the curly haired boy. "As long as the people who do care _don't_ report us, we'll be fine."

Curtly nodding, Auen soon lowered her gaze. "Doesn't spending time with another Union member warrant a report?"

"No, but from what I heard..." Ephemer's voice died.

Instantly, the ash brown haired girl looked at him alarmed. " _Oh no_ , what is it?"

"I just realized we could be in trouble if our candle gets damaged," whispered Ephemer uneasily, and Auen widened her eyes. "One of us should clear a path while the other protects the candle."

The hazel eyed girl tightened her expression. "That might slow us down."

Slowly nodding, the boy grimaced. "I know, it's just that-" He shook his head, sadly frowning. "We might not even get to the room if that's the case."

"We can still try, right?" Auen asked worriedly, nervously searching her companion's face for reassurance.

"Yeah, we can," he replied quietly. "But we mustn't take all day." Stepping closer to her, he hesitantly spoke, "I know it's a lot to ask of you, but would you be able to clear a path for me?" He stared down at their light source. "We can't let the Heartless snuff out the candle, and if I'm fighting..."

"O-Of course I can, it's not much trouble," Auen replied, hearing him sigh in relief before she added, "And we can always trade places later if we have to."

Ephemer gazed at her for a while, soon breathing, "Yeah, just let me know when you want to switch."

Auen gave a nod, soon turning. "Right."

She summoned her Starlight, tapping into the energy of her Cards before she rushed forward and swung her gold and purple Keyblade at the Heartless. Upon shooting a wave of electricity at them, watching them fade into dark haze, she turned to Ephemer as he jogged over. "I'll run ahead and check if there's more," Auen said firmly.

"Alright, I'll be right behind you," he said with a nod, and with that, Auen went off.

* * *

Upon taking down another Heartless, she waited for the soft glow of the candle to grow closer before gazing forward again. She smiled when the coast was clear, walking slow enough to not outpace Ephemer as she squinted for any more Heartless. Auen soon stopped, blinking when she realized it was a lot lighter than before, and simply stayed where she was until Ephemer joined her.

"Is something the matter?" he asked in concern, making her face him as he frowned. "We can switch if you want."

"No." Auen grinned, turning back as she pointed. "I can see a lot better now!" The wine red scarfed boy took another step forward, staring towards the path ahead as Auen went on eagerly, "We might not even _need_ that candle soon!"

The ash brown haired girl was about to walk forward when she felt his hand touch her shoulder. "I think there's a Heartless up ahead."

Frowning, she turned to him. "But I don't see anything."

"Just because you don't see one, doesn't mean it's safe," he pressed with concern, his turquoise eyes meeting her hazel. "It could be a trap."

"Don't worry, I'm sure we're fine," she said with a shake of her head. "C'mon, let's go." She turned to face forward, beaming. "It's bright enough for me to see, anyway!"

His grip tightened. "Auen..."

"And if there _is_ a Heartless, I'll take it out," she went on, starting to take a step. "It won't take long."

" _Auen_ -"

She started forward, slowing to a brisk walk as her surroundings became clear enough for her to feel relaxed. As she glanced around, she noted how there weren't any Heartless in sight, so she quickened her steps. Just as she stopped when she hadn't met Heartless in a while, about to call Ephemer over when she heard him calling her name back in the distance, she thought she heard something. Stiffening, she swerved only to jump at the sight of an Invisible.

The familiar tall, black, muscular imp-like Heartless was simply floating a few feet from her, blocking her path. It was wielding its long scalloped sword as its wings fluttered once and awhile, not aggressive for the moment. She hardened her expression, not daring to turn away from the Invisible when the thought of calling Ephemer over wouldn't be good. She steadied her grip on her Starlight as she swayed on the spot, pursing her lips as she braced herself before darting towards it.

She drew up her Keyblade, feeling the energy of the Cards she collected and reached for them. First she shot three powerful orbs of light at her enemy, parrying it's huge sword before throwing herself away from its well-aimed jab. As soon as she was behind it, she shot a surge of electricity into it, drawing the yellow current back a second later before jumping to avoid another strike. The large imp-like Heartless roared before diving towards her, prompting her to sidestep and thrust herself backward and raise her Keyblade to meet its sword again. She wasn't fast enough to strike after it loomed away from her weapon, and the Heartless made the next move as it surged forward, piecing its sword into her stomach.

Her air was sharply stolen from her lungs as she toppled backwards slowly, grimacing as she watched it rear its weapon before soaring towards her again. Before she felt the Heartless' attack make impact, she felt someone catch her and block the Invisible's sword. As soon as she was on her feet again, feeling energy pour into her as the pain disappeared, she tightened her hold on her Keyblade. Ephemer, who was in front of her, shot six orbs of light at the Heartless, flashes lighting up the area as each of them hit. Upon watching the last orb land, she slowly stood taller as she watched the Heartless dissipate in agony. It was exactly the same from what she saw when Ephemer defeated the Invisible from yesterday, and let herself relax.

Auen widened her eyes when she noticed the area was dimming, soon realizing the candlelight was absent. **'...Did he drop the candle to protect me?'** she thought in appal, biting her lip. **'If I hadn't gotten hit, we'd still have the candle...'**

Panting, she put her Starlight Keyblade away and gazed at the boy. She was about to apologize when he turned around, giving her a little smirk as he faced her. "Now we're even." Auen blinked, gaping slightly before she soon gave a weak smile back instead.

Suddenly, the ground rumbled, and they both widened their eyes. Auen nearly lost her balance, swaying precariously backwards until the convulsion stopped. As soon as she was steady on her feet again, they both turned and saw darkness in the distance. They ran further along the path, soon reaching the end only to stop when it started to fade away into nothing.

Auen glanced around when she became aware of how the area was starting to lose it's dimness, gasping as she faced Ephemer. "The Heartless must have been the cause for the dark passage," said Auen in surprise, soon tilting her head. "Then... I guess I _was_ right about us not needing the candle anymore?"

"That's good to know," he said happily, giving a laugh. "Looks like we solved that mystery."

She soon noticed that they were standing before a large gear connected to a strange platform. Auen widened her eyes, approaching it briskly to get a better look when she heard Ephemer speak. "Wait." His hand was raised when she turned back to him, and he lowered it when he spoke, "I think we should come back later."

"But you said that yesterday, Ephemer!" Auen said shocked as she threw up her arms, furrowing her eyebrows at him as she lowered her arms and gestured towards the weird platform. "Since we're so close, can't we just-"

"It's taken us this long just to find a way in," he explained, soon rubbing the back of his head as he went on nervously, "Think of how much longer it'll take for us to enter the tower and find the room, Auen."

"M-My dream… The room can't be too far from us!" Auen frowned as soon as Ephemer shook his head.

"It's going to look suspicious to our Union leaders if we're missing for too long," he noted, making Auen pause to think about it. Ephemer mentioned he got in trouble from skipping his missions multiple times... imagine what would happen if Master Gula and Master Ava noticed that each of their own Union members were spending a lot of time with each other in such a short span of time... If Auen had to be honest, she would definitely think something was going on if she was in Master Ava's shoes. And if Chirithy didn't know where she was currently, and they had to locate her for something... Chirithy could assume possibly the worst had happened. After she frowned back at him with a sigh, he gestured slowly with his hand as he pressed, "We know how to get in now, let's save the rest for another day."

"I-I guess you're right…" Auen said with a sigh, smiling weakly back as she reluctantly nodded.

Ephemer seemed relieved to hear that, and soon gave her a hopeful look. "We may not be in the same Union, but we're friends, right?"

Auen beamed immediately, darting over and grasping his hand with her own, bouncing it for a second. "Of course we are!" Ephemer closed his eyes to beam, and she let go a moment later. "There shouldn't be any reason not to be friends."

Ephemer kept smiling at her, soon speaking mildly, "Let's meet again tomorrow at Fountain Square." He looked away briefly, biting his lip before looking back. "How about noon?"

She nodded eagerly. "There's no better time for me."

"Great!" he chirped, turning. "Let's get back before someone sees us."

Auen followed after him, feeling excitement well up in her chest. **'A friend… I made a friend!'**

* * *

"Someone looks happy."

Auen smiled more, looking at Chirithy as she was settling into her oversized bed. They wiggled, soon cheering, "Tell me, tell me!"

As soon as she twisted fully to face Chirithy, she began, "Well, yesterday I met a boy as I was finishing my mission, and we happened to see each other again today at Fountain Square!" Chirithy nodded, and she went on happily, "We spent the day running around and exploring..." She closed her eyes. "And we became friends, Chirithy! We're meeting again tomorrow!"

"You made a new friend?" Chirithy hopped. "That's great! No wonder you're smiling."

She softly gazed at him, eager to hear more when they slightly lowered their head and squinted their eyes sadly. "I hear having friends is nice. But I wouldn't know because I don't have any."

"Aw c'mon, Chirithy," the ash brown haired girl chirped in amusement, laughing as she beamed at them. She thumped her chest lightly, soon waving back at them. "I thought our friendship meant more to you…"

"Huh?" Chirithy stared at her.

Auen nodded, pretending to be sagelike as she smiled warmly at her caped friend.

"You?" Chirithy made a thoughtful expression. "You're my friend…?"

Auen couldn't stop herself from laughing with mirth. "How are we _not_ friends, Chirithy?" She waved her hands, feeling her chest bubble with warmth. "We had that wardrobe argument in the morning, and you were all _fussy_ about it. If we weren't friends, why would you care about which clothing I wear everyday?" She leaned closer to the tabby. "Or whether or not I slept well after that first dream I had? Or trying to cheer me up? Or helping me get out the door by putting on my other boot?" When Chirithy cringed into the window in shock, she piped, "Friends do that stuff! Well, not exactly that... but friends look after each other, right?"

"And you're an expert now because of how you made a single friend today?" asked Chirithy with a disbelieving laugh. "We Chirithy don't make friends."

"Then how come we are?" asked Auen with a smirk.

"Well… you're just _saying_ we're friends," said Chirithy, turning away to look out the window. "Yes, you're just saying we're friends." Auen knew, deep inside, that her Chirithy must have been trying to deny it. She giggled. "The only reason why I'm here is to guide you through your missions and your Keyblade duties, and if I weren't…" Chirthy slightly turned back to her, their deep blue eye peering at her. "I wouldn't be here. You understand that, right?" As Auen rolled back, pulling her covers over her again and humming in amusement at their antics, Chirithy hopped to face her fully. "You better go to sleep now! Who knows if last night might make it harder for you to sleep today. And…" As Chirithy hopped up again, they turned to the window. "You know you don't want to be tired when you meet with your only friend."

"Goodnight," murmured Auen, closing her eyes. "My little friend." As soon as she was certain Chirithy heard her, she waited for sleep to come.

* * *

"Sorry, Auen…"

A flash of Ephemer came to her in a dream.

* * *

The next day Auen was early, about an hour early if she was to be exact. She knew Chirithy gave her odd looks today because of that, but she couldn't help it. She didn't know if Ephemer was the type to be early, but if he was… then that meant they could spend more time with each other!

She dangled her legs while she sat on the fountain, humming and watching other Keyblade wielders come and go as she waited. This time, she brought extra parchment, just to be sure she had enough for that map Ephemer was asking her to make. She had plenty of ink and a second quill in case Ephemer wanted to help draw it out with her. She didn't know if he was bad at drawing, but the idea of working on it together was a more thrilling idea than having Ephemer watch her draw the map.

All Auen had to do was wait for him to arrive.

And she waited… until it was dusk.

Leaning against a building, lamps blinking on, she half-closed her eyes, feeling cold and achy. She wondered why Ephemer wasn't here yet… Maybe he forgot he told her he wanted to meet with her today, and was going to come tomorrow? That couldn't be right, she told herself, lowering her head. She tried to ignore the fact that stars were appearing in the sky now, pretending it was the hot sun directly above her from several hours ago. By this time, she would be huddled against her windowsill, gazing at the stars as she wondered about them... Today, she just wanted them to not show up, but they seemed to ignore her pleas as if they thought that at dusk today she would be happy to see them again...

"Have you been here all day?"

Auen sniffled, looking up a bit and frowning upon seeing Chirithy hopping down the stairs, peeking around the corner before sidestepping fully into her range of view. They squinted sadly, soon murmuring, "Come on, let's go home."

"He has to be coming soon…" Auen mumbled, feeling heat behind her eyes. "He promised me…"

"Look." Chirithy waddled closer. "I'm sure something important came up." Auen slowly got up, walking over sluggishly to her Chirithy. "A friend always keeps their promise. Maybe he had an emergency." They hopped. "You should give him the benefit of the doubt."

Auen felt a pang inside, knowing that it might be best. If she made a conclusion for why he didn't show up, it wouldn't make her feel better. Maybe Ephemer did have a reason…

" _It's easier to believe they were lying through their teeth than what actually happened to them."_

Auen mentally scolded herself. **'I shouldn't believe he lied to me, I shouldn't be _so_ stupid to think that. But why couldn't he just tell me he couldn't make it… it's not _that_ hard.' **Suddenly, she was aware of how hot tears gushed down her face, and she couldn't find it within herself to stop. She inhaled unsteadily, choking on her sob...

"Don't be sad." She clenched her eyes, gritting her teeth. "When you're sad, it makes me sad too." When she reopened her blurry vision, she noticed how Chirithy came closer. "After all, we're friends, right?"

As if that cleared her senses for a brief second, she widened her eyes, still crying even when she struggled to beam at them. She leaned down to grab Chirithy's paw, soon swooping them into her arms and held them before her. "What-? Whoa!"

"Y-You're right, Chirithy…" she said watery as she sniffled, closing her eyes. "H-How could I have forgotten...?"

"Uh-huh!" Chirithy waved their paws, squeaking, "I know I said we weren't friends, but I realized we are, Auen…" She smiled and sniffled again. "We're a team… and those in a team care about each other, right?"

Slowly drawing her little friend closer, she hugged them closely and closed her eyes. "O-Of course… we'll always be a team." She shakily inhaled. "You a-and me..."

Even though her heart ached, light dying as their surroundings darkened from the setting sun… Auen knew there would always be another day as the stars twinkled above them.

* * *

 **To be continued… hope you enjoyed the chapter! =3**


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